Varié Magazine

Varié Magazine is an independent entertainment publication based in Chicago, IL. Indie music. Indie fashion. Indie entertainment. We are the underground outlet.

[variemag-blog]

"Room for Forgiveness" by Hamilton Leithauser

"Room for Forgiveness" is the latest offering from former singer of The Walkmen. It is a far cry from the discordant, heart pumping guitars and aggressive vocals that characterized The Walkmen’s early sound. On the bands hits like, "The Rat", Hamilton Leithauser would sing with such dissonance, you would forget that there was ever any melody holding everything together--it was there though. "Room For Forgiveness" does not make the listener try hard to hear Leithauser's knack for constructing catchy songs.

- Z. Knapp

[variemag-blog]

Download Mae Oriel's "The Playback Mixtape"

Mae Oriel came to play on her The Playback Mixtape (no pun intended). The project features 10 songs including a bonus track that all deliver vocals. Earlier in the year, she released featured singles “Toyin” and “Can’t Say No” to get listeners ready. The Toronto based singer sifts through riffs and runs that will easily captivate the ears of any authentic R&B fan. It started off with “Dare Me” – a track of sensual curiosity – and by the time “Lonely” came along, I was knee deep in my feelings (whew, child). She definitely slid on this one. Overall this was a solid offering from Oriel and best of all, you can download it for FREE. Check it out and download after the jump.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

"Townie" - Mitski

Mitski got a fair amount of recognition with the release of the single "I Don't Smoke" early last month. Now "Townie", another song off her solid new album Bury Me at Makeout Creek", has gotten the video treatment. The video is a shot like a lo-fi home movie with Mitski laying around her room. "Townie" is one of the best moments on Bury Me at Makeout Creek. Whereas "I Don't Smoke" was an unsettling slow burner, "Townie" is raucous, power pop—the kind of tune Angel Olsen would be pumping out if she grew up on Big Star records.

-Zach Knapp

[variemag-blog]

"Back Baby" - Jessica Pratt

"Back, Baby" has been making it hard to listen to anything else over the last week. Pratt's voice reverberates through the song--equally bittersweet and wildly lonely. Pratt never strays away, musically, from the classic singer-songwriter territory of Joni Mitchell or Karen Dalton. Like Dalton and Mitchell, Pratt displays an inherent sense of melody that is something special. On Your Own Love Again is out 1/27.

- Zach Knapp

[variemag-blog]

Bella Bahhs Drops "Royal Family"

Bella Bahhs and PHIL teamed up for another thought-provoking track to add to their repertoire. “Royal Family” is the newest addition to Bella’s work put together with the help of Clouded Kings. In this one, Bella gets loose when talking about the media manipulation every person of color who majored in communications knows all too well. It gets a bit uncomfortable for some (remember when the professor asked why does everyone think Malcolm X got shot and everybody looked at you like you loaded the gun? Yes.). For the follow up, PHIL swoops in talking about the history of a people written by a completely different people. The two are never to shy to speak on issues that penetrate the culture beyond music, so this was a dope addition to the catalog. Check it out below.

V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Rochelle Jordan Announces Tracklist For "1021"

Rochelle Jordan took to Instagram to release the tracklist for her 1021 project available November 11th. The Toronto-bred R&B singer has been delivering nothing short of greatness through her singles over the past year, so the wait for a completed album seems like it will have been worth it. Check out the list of songs that will be featured below.

 - V. Bell

1. Day Ones

2. Follow Me

3. Lowkey

4. Good One

5. There You Go

6. 401

7. Back In The Day

8. Only If

9. The Fuss

10. Playa 4 Life

11. Return To Sender

13. Ease Your Mind

14. Calculator10

[variemag-blog]

Luu Breeze Goes Hard On "Peace To The Gods"

“I don’t want much but the whole bank.” Luu Breeze got lose on his single “Peace the Gods”. This track was produced by Daniel Worthy who brought the perfect balance of bang for Breeze’s flow. The Toronto emcee went in on how bad he wants it in this track. Towards the end he slows it down towards the end to make sure you catch every bar. This may be one to add to the daily rotation. Definitely waiting to hear more from him in the near future. In the meantime, here’s “Peace To The Gods”.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Rochelle Jordan Releases "Playa 4 Life" ft. IAMSU

Rochelle Jordan said these hoes ain’t loyal. Okay, maybe not exactly. The Toronto songstress teamed up with IAMSU to deliver her single “Playa 4 Life”.  In this song, she discusses not being able to trust anymore after a failed relationship. She chronicles the ups and downs of a relationship as well as the turning points. Of course IAMSU offered a quick 16 for the record produced by Jay Ant. Ant came with a chill airy sound over deep bass that was perfect for the overall sound of the track. Listen to how it all came together below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Benjamin Earl Turner Drops "The Petty Anthem"

Benjamin Earl Turner decided to channel all of our shared inner petty Bettys. His newest track “The Petty Anthem” is a hilarious rub-it-in-your-face piece. We even get Patti Labelle reference…twice (because, yes). An indicator of how petty the track came out is evident by him using a picture of The Grinch as the single art. Turner says this release is “the result of some lovely dame who cared not for my chest piece.” Check out the track after the jump.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Skeme Releases "Promise"

Skeme held no punches in his “Promise” single. The west coast artist is gearing up for the release of his project Ingleworld 2. This chill track was produced by Alex Lustig a meshes well with Skeme’s flow. Skeme has definitely been putting in work for a while now, and this project sounds like it’s going to be a dope addition to the collection. This track in particular instantly followed the release of his single “Peace Of Mind”. He’s throwing music to the people with no hesitation. While we wait for the project, check out “Promise” below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Chance The Rapper Sings The Blues

Chance The Rapper took a bluesy turn on his latest single. “No Better Blues” is another freebie from the Chicago-bred emcee and tells a story of everything he hates…which is pretty much everything on this one. Aside from all the jokes, Chance hits on some pretty twisted things that go overlooked in the song. Helping out with the track were Donnie Trumpet, Peter Cottontale and Nate Fox. This is an addition to the emcee’s Social Experiment. Listen to it below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Gangsta Boo & BeatKing Release "Underground Cassette Tape Music"

Gangsta Boo teamed up with BeatKing to deliver her latest project Underground Cassette Tape Music. The 15-track mixtape features appearances from 8 Ball, Paul Wall, Danny Brown and many more. The Houston to Memphis connection is strong in this one. The most interesting part of it all is Gangsta Boo hasn’t even met BeatKing in person. According to HipHopDX, Boo said the project was done by emailing tracks back and forth. The outcome was this tape that sounds like authentic Southern Hip Hop. Stream and download it below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Potatohead People Release "Whatever It Is, It's Working"

Potatohead enlisted the help of Illa J, Frank Nitt and Jon Rogers for their super chill track "Whatever It Is, It's Working". In this short and sweet track the emcees talk about everything working together from childhood to now to get them where they are. Illa J's project will be produced by the group and release to listeners sometime in the near future. Potatohead definitely kept the vibes smooth in this instrumental. Check it out below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Nikki Jean Teams Up With Ab-Soul For "Champagne Water"

Nikki Jean teamed up with Ab-Soul to deliver her latest single “Champagne Water”. The song is from her forthcoming solo EP. You may recognize her voice from Lupe Fiasco’s “Hip-Hop Saved My Life”. Though she has a long list of notable credits for her vocals and songwriting, Jean is now making magic on her own project. In this track she says she’ll turn your water into Champagne (this is, of course, if Jesus gave you Merlot and you decided you were feeling more like Bubbly). All the same, this is a dope track from Jean. Vibe to it below.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Jarren Benton Drops "Lost Kings" For #BlackOctober

Funk Volume's Jarren Benton released his latest track, "Lost Kings", for his #BlackOctober series. For the entire month he'll be releasing a new track every Wednesday leading to the release of his EP later in the year. This one will hit home for a lot of people as it comes from an alternate perspective to the things we see on the news daily. His previous album, My Grandma's Basement, was a very dope listen. It'll be interesting to see what he offers in his next project. In the meantime, check out the single below.

-V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

Saba Releases Video For "Burnout"

Saba recently dropped his project ComfortZONE that turned out to be way more epic than anyone imagined. Now, he's here with visual art for his single "Burnout". To say this video is an interesting one is an understatement. Saba, alongside songstress Eryn Allen Kane, goes for a ride through a two dimensional Chicago...in a desert...near a drive-in theater. I swear I'm not making this up. Two points for the director of this one. Check out the trippy new visual after the jump.

- V. Bell

[variemag-blog]

“Colours” - BC Kindom

BC Kingdom is back with another smooth trippy single for your listening pleasure. This track entitled “Colours” has a very deep mellow tone. You may remember the duo from their “Lock Up” single featured on Saint Heron, the debut album for Solange’s indie label. The duo is gearing up for their forthcoming Buckwild Spirit EP. This track was a chill blend of UK meets US. It’s a pretty interesting track. Stream it after the jump.

- V. Bell